STONEDEAD FESTIVAL
MARKET TOWNS are plentiful in our region, but nearby Newark has other attributes, namely being home to an annual one stage one day rock extravaganza that is Stonedead Festival.
With the usual between band story telling and witticisms from host Krusher, as festivals go, the event gets better, with this year being opened by East Anglian quintet Aethoria, followed by Motorhead inspired Yorkshire gang Asomvel. Playing to large gatherings must have been delightful for these up and coming bands, with the audience giving strong smiles and applause.
Formed back in 2011 and hailing from across the pond in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Crobot took no prisoners and having supported Black Label Society and Anthrax to name but a few, seemed to be at home on the large Newark stage.
With colourful attire Canadian gang The Damn Truth were another new band for me, even though they’ve toured here many times. This lot have done the spade work by supporting many, including Alice Cooper, The Cult and ZZ Top, plus have won awards in their Canadian homestead.
Connecting back in the early eighties Armored Saint have done the rounds. In fact frontman John Bush and bassist Joey Vera were once offered roles within Metallica in the early days, but both refused. If only they knew. Supporting the great and the good, the Saints deserve their stripes and though they had a blip for five years, they reconvened in 1999 and haven’t looked back since. Nice bright back drops always work and the Armored Saint sign shone brightly, as did the playing.
Photography By: Roy Goodall
Finland’s Battle Beast have done just that over the years, with several personnel coming and going as latest front woman Marina La Torraca is now fronting the band. Again, the local crowd gave good support and the band also seemed to be having a blast, playing stuff off their five album back catalogue. Â
Birmingham legends Magnum, I did feel, should have been headliners, as they’ve a body of work some bands can only dream of. With twenty three albums since their 1972 conception, I guess they maybe didn’t want the extra pressure, though this would have been a respectful tribute to founder member Tony Clarkin who sadly passed a few years ago. As other members drifted away, only co-founder vocalist Bob Catley remains. With Tony being the main songwriter and guitarist, for purist fans like me his passing leaves an unfixable hole. The start wasn’t great as sound issues on Days Of No Trust were weak to say the least. When We Were Young, How Far Jerusalem, Just Like An Arrow, Midnight, we had all the belters Magnum fans love, with classic floor-filler Vigilante and from the very beginning, Kingdom Of Madness, closing their set as Bob waved and said it had been a ‘wonderful experience’.Â
Special Guests Accept really pushed the boat out as pyrotechnics had a field day, with flames hit ceilings and twin guitar duals aplenty. Why this lot haven’t hit the real high bar is beyond me. Formed again back in 1972, Accept didn’t release their self-titled debut until 1979 and since then have a shelve full of products. With John Bush returning centre stage for a mid-set sing song, this tight five-some drew the masses by putting on a brilliant show, even getting the crowd filling the void on a brief power cut during hit single Balls To The Wall.Â
Swedish Bill-Toppers Europe closed the night in style, especially with second song Rock The Night hitting the mark full on. Europe really do have the songs but it’s in the live arena where they really hit home. What was also nice to see and hear about Europe is their line-up has remained static throughout, albeit guitarist John Norum took a sabbatical in the late eighties and early nineties. They all looked fit and well, especially the man with the voice who kept hand tossing his microphone, only once did I see it drop. You could tell they work hard on the performance, plus their production team made the stage layout good. Part way through Europe also drifted into a bit of Whitesnake, seemed happy to be in Nottinghamshire, even using some local dialect to bond us all together, and predictably left us with that irritating closing song.
As ticket prices rise, seeing major bands is becoming the preserve of the rich. Many now charge well over three figures, plus t-shirts are hitting fifty pounds at some gigs. The industry and certain bands care little for fans who put them there in the first place, so I’m really hoping that the team behind Stonedead persist with their affordable pricing policy, retain the one day event and continue to prosper and flourish, because for my limited money, this festival is one of the countries finest.
Photography By: Roy Goodall
